Motor-vehicle.



J. E. PLEW.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLICATION Hum APR. 5, 1909.

Patented Dec. 17,1912

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MOTOR VEHIGLE. ArPLIcATIbN FILED APB..5, 1909.

Patented Dec. 17, 1912 W W T Ar TIT km an 1% an J. E. PLEW.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLIUATION FILED APR.5, 1909.

Patented Dec. 17,1912.

3 SHEETS-MEET wzm Pla 2 M unrrn su JAMES E. PLE W, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MOTOR-VEHICLE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.17, iota...

Application filed April 5, 1909. Serial No. 487,958.

structed, the body is'equipped with a front and'a rear seat permanently built into the body, both of which extend transversely of the car and are forwardly facing.

It frequently occu s that occasion arises, in the use of the vehicle, for transporting a person unable to sit up with comfort, for example, in event of an accident or a person becoming 'i'll. So also, in touring, occasions arise. when the ear might be conveniently utilized for sleeping in event of being detained Where regular sleeping accommodations are unavailable.

The invention designs primarily to pro--- vide a vehicle which is adapted for travel in the usual manner and in which the occupants of the seats face forwardly when driving, and which. can be readily folded or converted to provide a rest on W ic-h one or more persons can lie in extended position. For example, in event of an injury, a rest may be provided at one side of the car to extend longitudinally and of sufficient length to permit a personto comfortably lie down on it While the drivers seat is left in position-for travel. I

An advantage of the invention is that it may be embodied in motor-vehicles for hire, so that the body may be quickly folded or converted to provide a rest to receive an in jured or ill person,'and so that the necessity of calling a specially constructed ambulance may be avoide 1. In other words, the ve-' hicl'e-body is adapted to provide seating capacity for the usual number of persons in ordinary travel and still be equipped to pro vide a restor couch on which a person may comfortably lie.

The invention still further designs to pro vide an improved vehicle-body in which substantially the entire space therein may be utilized for building up a bed or rest for be desired in several persons when that may touring, or at any time when travel is continued.

The invention still further designs to provide an improved vehicle which is equipped for use as a bed or couch without interfering with the seating capacity and comfort of the passengers when used for travel.

The invention. consists in the several novel features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings; Figure 1. is a central longitudinal section of a motor vehicle embod in the invention arts bein shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan of the vehiclebody as used when a longitudinally extending re t is desired at one side of the body and upon which a person can lie in extended position, the other side being available for seating passengers. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionon line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a detail of one of the locks for securing the pivoted back. of the frontseat in upright position. Fig. 4- is a plan view illustrating the body with both sides of the car equipped with rests to form a couch or bed extending between the sides of the body so as to provide sleeping accommodations for several persons. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 ofv Fig.l,the cushions being removed. Fig.6 is a transverse section of the body, looking toward the back; of the frontseat, one section of the back being lowered to form a support. Fig. 7 is a detail of one of the locks for securing the rods on the back of the front seat in position to serve as a coat rail. I

A denotes the bod; of a car mounted on wheels (I. in manner well. understood in the art. The front portion of the car is usually. utilized for the motor which is usually disposed under a hood 10 located in front of the dash-board anda floor 12 extends re'arwardly of .the dash-board substantially throughout the length of the body, this floor being supported by a suitable frame 13. The body is equipped with a. frame or support. 14 whiehserves as a front seat and extends transversely across the car, being usually adapted to seat two persons side by side to face forwardly. A rear seat 15 extends transversely across the body of the car and this usually seats two or three passengers side by'side, facing forward. The body of the car is provided with a back 16 which extends upwardly above the seat to provide a back-support for the passengers in the rear seat. .The rear of the body is provided with sides {17 adjacent the rear seat and sidedoors 18 so that passengers may conveniently enter or leave the rear compartmentof the body. The body of the car. is extended to provide sides 19 at the outer sides of the front seat and in order that these sides may be rigid they are securely braced and connected to the front seat 14 by metallic straps 20, which rigidly and permanently connect said sides to the body. The steering-wheel 21 is disposed at the front right-hand side of the car in front of the drivers seat at the right-hand side of the car.

As generally constructed the space between the back of the front seat and the back end of the body is shorter than the ordinary height of a person so that a rest extending merely from the back of the back seat to the back of the front seat will beinsufficient in length to serve as a comfortable rest upon which a person can conveniently lie in extended position. In order, therefore, to make it possible to utilize the rear compartment of the body for such a rest and to provide one which is of sufficient length to accommodate a person, the back of the front seat is removably supported so it can be displaced to leave a'clear space for a rest extending horizontally longitudinally and forwardly from the back of the back seat a sufficient distance to provide a rest of the necessary length. By removing the back of the fr nt seat the rest may extend over the front seat and forwardly thereof if necessary. In some instances it is desirable to provide a bed or rest at one side of the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven, e. 9., to transport a person who has been injured or one who is ill and to utilize one side of the body for a bed or rest while the other side still has seating capacity for the driver and an attendant or another person on the rear seat. The back of the front seat is formed of sections which are independently removable and resultantly the section at one side of the front seat may be removed and a horizontally and longitudinally extending rest-or bed may be built up at one side of the body while another section of the back of the front seat may be left in raised position for the driver. By making both of the hawk-sections of the front seat removable a double rest or'bed may be laid or built up between the sides of the body and extending entirely across the body.

The back of the front seat comprises two sections 23 and 24, each of which is pivotally sustained or hinged to the frame of tlm-front-seat as at 25 0 swing backwardly 'and downwardly so tli' it will extend rearwardly and substantially horizontally from the front seat. When the back-sections are in raised or substantially vertical position to serve as back-supports for the driver and passenger on the front seat, each is locked by a latch 26 which is pivoted at its front end as at 27 to the seat and is provided with ahook 28 at its other end for detachably engaging a stud 29 secured to the back section, and thereby each back-section will be independently removable and will be held'ih raised position. Latches 26 are disposed centrally of the seat to more particularly secure the inner portions of the back-seeticns. At their outer ends the back-sections are also locked to the rigid seat "sides by cam-latches 30 of suitable construction and whereby the back-sections will be firmly secured to the rigid seat-sides 19 and in raised position. Said latches comprise pivoted members 32 which maybe swung to unlock or release the back-sections. Thus, by unlocking the cam-latches 30 and latches 26 v for either of the back-sections each may be lowered so as to clear the space rearwardly of the front seat and between the twd seats. Another feature of the invention consists in utilizing the removable back or back sections to support a longitudinally extending rest rearwardly of the front seat or between the front and the rear seats. For this purpose, the back-sections are provided with supporting-rodswhich are adapted to rest on the floor of the body when the back has been unlocked and lowered so that they will in effect extend rearwardly from the front seat and serve as an extension thereof for supporting a longitudinally extending couch or rest. Each of these rods 33 is .pivotally connected to a bracket or lug securedto the back of the back-section, one being securedat each side of the sections respectively and the inner ends of each pair of rods are adapted to be locked together in; position shown in Fig. 2 by a spring-bolt 35 (Fig. 7 and when thus locked together; rods 33 for each section serve as a coat or robe-rail. When one of the back-sections is to he held in horizontal position to support a longitudinally extending rest, bolt is unlocked leaving the rods 33 to swing backwardly and then when the back section. is lowered they will rest on the bottom of the a body of the ear and firmly support the back in substantially horizontal position.

The seats are provided with removable the width of the back-section thereof. The latches 26 for securing the inner ends of the back-sections to the seat are disposed between the cushions on the front seat and its back. These cushions are usually formed with rigid frames 40 so that'the supports on which they may be laid need not extend entirely beneath them. Each back-cushion is removably connected to its back support by suitable means such as straps and buttons 42. The sides for the front and rear seats are usually 'unholstered or covered and this covering or upholstering is permanently so cured to the sides. The fore and aft measurement of the rear seat is approximately the same as the width of one of the sectional cushions on the front seat and as a result the cushions may be nicely fitted or built up to form alongitudinally extending rest over and betweenthe seatsas hereinafter described.

'Wheri the vehicle is to be used for seating passengers, the seats will present substantially the same appearance as a touring-car, equipped with front and rear seats with cushions thereon and cushions for the seat backs and car of usual design.

If occasion arises for transporting a person who has been injured or is ill, and providing a longitudinally extending rest on which a person can lie in extended position while the car is to be used for traveling, the left-hand baclf-section .23 will be unlocked by the manipulation of its latch 26 and its cam-latch 30 and the rods 33 on the back thereof will be disconnected from each other by disconnection of spring-bolt Rods 33 will then be free to be swung backwardly and the-back-sect-ion may then be lowered into horizontal position as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the rods 33 resting on the floor of the,,body to support the rear end of the back-section while its front end is sustained by the front seat. Then the lefthand cushion will be removed from the frontseat and the cushion 38 will be removed from the lowered back-section 23. The long cushions from the back seat and the back, thereof may then be lilid longitudinally of one another to extend'lengtl'nvise of the car and across both the front and rear seats and betweenithem and to project forwardly from the front seat as shown in Figs. and 3. The cushions removed from the left-hand side of the front seat and the lowered back section will then he placed and secured at, the right-v .hand side of the rear seat. Resultantly, the

operator of the vehicle may occupy the front. right-hand seat, a person can lie in extended position on the rest formed by the cushions 36 at the left-hand side of the vehicle and an attendant or other passenger can occupy the right-hand rear seat. 'lIhusthe vehicle ran-be quickly altered to provide a longior rest without interfering with the occupancy of the drivers seat or the rear righthand seat.

In some instances when touring, occasion arises for providing sleeping accommodations for several persons. In that event, however, it is not necessary to have seating accommodations because the vehicle will not then be used for travel and therefore the drivers seat may be utilized for the makeup of a longitudinally extending, couch or rest. To make-up a rest or bed for several persons, both of the back-sections of the front seat will be unlocked and lowered and rods 24 at the back of both sections will be unlocked and swung rearwardly so that when the back-sections are lowered they will besupportedin substantially horizontal position by rods 23. To make-up a double bed or rest, all of the cushions will be removed from the seats and the cushions from the front seat and the back sections may be laid on the rear seat and the lowered back-sections and the long cushions from the back seat and the back thereof willbe laid across the front seat as shown in Fig. 4:. Substantially the entire body of the-ear will then be utilized as sleeping room and convenient accommodations Will be provided for several persons.

Touring-cars are usually equipped with a suitable top 42 andJside-curtains (not shown) whereby the sides of the body may be inclosed and I the occupants protected,

from exposure. A compartment 43. beneath the rear seat is accessible by means of a door44, and in this compartment the necessary bedding may be conveniently kept when not in use.

The invention thus provides'an improved motor-vehicle comprising a body which possesses full seating capacity and in which the seats are arranged -in' usual manner so that all of the passengers occupying them Will face forwardly. \Vhenever occasion arises for transporting a person who 1s lll orwho has been injured, the equipment may be be utilized in the n'iake-up of either single or a double rest and therefore the' -nse of special or additional equipment in their ma ke-up is avoided.

The invention is not to be understood as tudinally and horizontally extending couch rrestrieted to the precise details illustrated and describedsince thesemay be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is: i

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a vehicle body, a seat mounted upon said body, a back pivotally connected to the seat to swing backwardly and downwardly, a supporting rod connected to said back and! adapted to extend across said back, and

-' means for securing the rod in spaced relation and horizontally across the back, said rod being foldable to serve as a support for the back when the latter is lowered.

2. In a vehicle, the combination of a vehicle-body, a seat mounted on said body, a back for the seat pivoted to swing backwardly and downwardly, a rod, means for securing the rod in horizontal position and in spaced relation to said back, when the latter is raised, means for holding the rod the latter is lowered.

in vertical position to serve as a leg for the back when it is lowered and means for forming a rest upon the seat and back when 3. In a vehicle, the combination of a ve-p hicle body, a front and a rear seat mounted on the body to face forwardly, a back for a pair of sec-' ackwardly and h the front seat, comprisin tions pivoted to swing downwardly, rods pivotally connected to the sections respectively, to swing from a horizontal position to a vertical position, means for securing the rods to the back so the rods will serve as a coat rail when the i back is in raised position, each rod being adapted to serve as a leg for the back when it is lowered, and means for forming a longitudinally' and horizontally extending rest over and between the seats when the back sections are lowered.

JAMES E. PLEVV. Witnesses:

FRED GERLAGH, LEONE S. RUSSELL. v 

